Mount Kerinci

Kerinci reaches 3,805 metres, which makes it the highest volcano in Indonesia and the highest point in Sumatra, standing at the centre of the Kerinci Seblat National Park in the Barisan range. The climb starts from Kersik Tuo, a village on the Kayu Aro tea estate - one of the largest single tea plantations in the world - and goes up through montane forest to a camp at around three thousand metres, then over volcanic scree and ash to the crater rim, usually reached before dawn on the second day. It is a hard walk, muddy, steep and often wet, rather than a technical climb. The summit is an active crater emitting gas, and the mountain has been raised in alert status and closed at times. The surrounding forest is Sumatran tiger habitat.

What you actually see

• Indonesia's highest volcano - 3,805 metres, the top of Sumatra.
• A tea estate approach - Kersik Tuo on the vast Kayu Aro plantation.
• An active crater - gas-emitting, with alert-level closures at times.
• Tiger habitat below - the montane forest of Kerinci Seblat around it.

When to go

May to September; the climb needs a dry window. Three days.

Honest expectations

Guides and permits are compulsory and the mountain closes on volcanic alerts. The route is relentlessly muddy and steep. Nights at the camp are cold. Weather turns fast near the summit.

Nearby

Lake Gunung Tujuh is close; Sungai Penuh is the district town.